Billy Cobb has had an interesting high school hockey career.
The Ewing High School sophomore played on Lawrence High School’s ice hockey team last year as part of a co-op between the two schools, which is not uncommon. Cobb ended up making the varsity squad as a freshman at a school he did not attend.
This year, though, the Lawrence co-op ended and instead, Ewing shares a team with West Windsor North, so Cobb is playing for his second school in two years.
And while three other Ewing players joined him on Lawrence’s squad last year, this year, Cobb is the lone Blue Devil in Knight territory.
“At first it kind of sucked just because it was a different routine,” Cobb said. “I know a couple of the guys from travel, though, so I got right back into it. It made it a little easier.”
Freshmen David Corell and Kevin Doody are some of the players Cobb knew from travel hockey, and second-year head coach Andrew Ferencevych said they and the other guys on the team, paired with summer league play at Ice Land, made Cobb’s transition from team-to-team stress-free.
“It was an easy adjustment for him, even though he’s the only player from Ewing on the team,” he said. “It seems to me that they welcomed him pretty quickly. You wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s the only Ewing player on the team. He’s just one of the guys.”
It’s apparent on the ice. Cobb isn’t afraid to be vocal and direct his teammates, and he definitely isn’t shy about being aggressive.
In fact, his confidence, aggression and “good hockey sense” were what caught Ferencevych’s eye when Cobb first came out for the team.
“There are a lot of attributes that I liked about Billy,” he said. “First, he has good size. He knows how to play the game really well. he has good hockey sense and good instincts. He can skate. He can pass the puck. He has a good, accurate shot, and he’s physical and aggressive. He has a lot of good qualities.”
Ferencevych added that Cobb is a nice complement to senior caption Greg Olsson, an offensive-minded defenseman and the team’s leading scorer. His presence in the back gives Olsson more freedom to roam and score.
“He brings a solid presence to the back end,” the coach said. “Billy’s able to contrast that because he plays defensively. [Olsson] can skate with the puck a little bit more knowing that Billy will be back.”
Cobb and Olsson do have their similarities, though. The sophomore also has offensive sensibilities and a good, precise shot, which Ferencevych said is just an added bonus.
Cobb tallied a goal and an assist in North’s first game, a 10-0 win over Nottingham/Hamilton West on Dec. 1. At press time, the Knights are 1-5.
“He’s able to work both offensively and defensively,” Ferencevych said.
Cobb, though, said he just follows his coach’s directions and plays accordingly.
“I would say I play both aggressively and defensively on defense, depending on how I’m told to play and what team we’re going up against,” he said. “It’s a little bit of both.”
At 5-foot-10, what Ferencevych calls “pretty good for a sophomore,” the coach predicts Cobb will continue to grow—and become even more physical as his size increases over the next few years into his senior season.
“He should be able to grow a little more,” he said. “He’ll fill out a little more.”
Cobb agreed, saying that he set similar goals for himself that he hopes to meet this year and down the line.
“Individually, I’d like to grow more as a player, mentally and physically,” he said. “I definitely want to be more of a leader, maybe become a captain next year. I’d also like to get more assists and put more points up and definitely talk a lot more in practice and not mess around as much.”
And he has comparable goals for the team as a whole.
“I’d like to see everyone individually better themselves and maybe win some more games this year and next year,” he said.
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